As Israel’s war in Gaza intensifies, a growing number of parents in Israel are demanding that sperm from the bodies of their children, who were killed during the ongoing conflict, be extracted and frozen, a BBC report he said.
Since Hamas’ all-out offensive on October 7 and Israel’s brutal retaliation, more than 400 Israelis have been killed.
Of these, sperm was recovered from around 170 men – both civilians and soldiers – according to the Israeli Ministry of Health. This represents a 15-fold increase compared to previous years.
The process involves making a small incision in the testicle to remove a piece of tissue from which live sperm can be extracted and frozen. Chances of successful recovery are high within 24 hours of death, but sperm can live for up to 72 hours in the body of the deceased.
To facilitate families’ grieving process, some procedural rules have been relaxed, but families are still frustrated with the long legal processes they face.
In October, the Israeli Ministry of Health withdrew a request for a mandatory court order for parents to use the sperm extraction procedure. Although it has become easier to freeze sperm, widows or parents who want to use it to conceive a child have to prove in court that the deceased wanted to have children.
Parents say the entire process can take years, and the long wait adds to their pain.
The first Israeli couple to preserve and use their dead son’s sperm did so in 2002, after their son, a soldier, was shot dead by a Palestinian sniper in the Gaza Strip. Their granddaughter is now 10 years old.
Although experts believe the process has “great significance” for bereaved families, they also say that “the current rules have created a conflict in the case of single men”, as their desire to have a child has to be proven in court so that the procedure can begin. be carried out.
Because single men often do not have a clear record of consent, their families, who are already dealing with grief in a “very difficult situation,” can only freeze sperm but cannot use it for fertilization.
Currently, Israeli lawmakers are trying to draft a bill to create clearer and more comprehensive rules for the process, taking into account the high number of deaths in the ongoing war in Gaza.
This story originally appeared on Ndtv.com read the full story
